Spring 2010

One of the initial projects of the Finding the Good Semester Program was to create a mandala out of found materials on the property.

The mandala took a few hours to construct, but still remains despite the undulating mix of snow, rain, hail and sun in the foothills of the Sierra.

Deb adds a few pieces to the mandala that she collected while foraging amongst the cedars and pines.

A “pre-road trip” photo was taken the night Finding The Good departed for Santa Cruz and the Real Food Convergence.

The Real Food Convergence 2010 was called “Strengthening the Roots” and was held on UC Santa Cruz’s campus February 12-14.

This was Finding the Good’s initial media collecting experience on the road trip; they were able to interview several food advocates working to instigate a local, organic shift on UC campuses and the in state.

Forest can often be found climbing trees at any new location Finding the Good arrives.

Kristen and Andrew eat a delicious meal prepared by volunteers at the Real Food Convergence.

A Santa Cruz sunset. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Jon climbs the famous ‘tree 9’ at UCSC.

Andrew poses in front of the Pacific.

Genesis runs into the chilly, February ocean the night before Finding the Good embarked on its epic journey to Mexico.

Nick helps Andrew set up his shot before an interview at the Kresge Co-op at UCSC.

There was an uplifting drum circle the final day of the Convergence and a group shot of most people that attended. The whole weekend was a great opportunity for UC students to network amongst themselves and in their communities.

Alex, Genesis and Jon relax on a tree trunk at The Grange where we slept in Santa Cruz during the Convergence.

Genesis holds the boom for an interview with WildCoast in SanDiego. www.wildcoast.net

Last minute tune-ups on the trailer before Finding the Good hits the dusty, washboard trails of Mexico.

Genesis looks for the best exchange rates before they cross the border into Mexico.

The students get their passports stamped at the border crossing into Mexico. There is an energy and a newness to it all.

Jon climbs the mountain where the cave paintings reside in Catavina, one of our first stops down the Baja Peninsula.

Cactus in the desert.

The Catavina landscape.

Forest lays beneath the 10,000 year old cave paintings.

A close up of the cave paintings.

Everyone gathers in reverence in the spiritual place to study the old drawings.

Genesis loved to collected cactus skeletons and other dead objects in the desert.

Jon was pricked by a jumping choya – a type of cactus that falls off the plant and ‘jumps’ on passing animals or humans.

Everyone unpacks the trailer at Laguna Ojo de Liebre for Finding the Good’s first extended camp where they will meet the whales.

Genesis jumps for the camera in front of the beautiful Mexican landscape.

The group poses in front of a boojum tree; Tom compares the trees to something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Kristen holds fresh eggs in the market during one of the group’s essential journeys into town.

Forest and Andrew hang out in front of the Fruteria in Guerrero Negro.

Genesis holds an orange up to the camera, one of our breakfast staples while traveling in Mexico.

The staff boat is ecstatic about meeting the gray whales in Laguna Ojo de Liebre.

Sirena leans out of the boat and tries to touch the gray whale.

A gray whale swims under the boat of spectators.

Alex, Genesis and Natasha try to touch the gray whales.

The film crew interviews the lancheros (whale boat drivers) after their first encounter with the gray whale on Laguna Ojo de Liebre.

Many gray whale murals are painted on buildings in Guerrero Negro; the town is very proud of the whale that comes to visit them each year.

Kristen visits the market (el Mercado) in Guerrero Negro and poses beside a side of beef.

Annabelle took an “artsy” shot of a stray dog in front of the market in Guerrero Negro.

Genesis, Alex and Forest slide down a towering salt mountain at the Salt Exporter in Guerrero Negro.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Salt at the end of its processing journey.

Andrew films the vast, salty landscape.

Andrew films.

An overall shot of the salt production plant.

An overall shot of the salt production plant.

Laguna Ojo de Leibre.

The tarp tents are set up at Ojo de Liebre.

Nick looks through the scope at sunrise.

Laguna Ojo de Liebre.

A long exposure shot of San Ignacio Lagoon at night.

Tom and Deb’s tent beneath a San Ignacio moon.

Genesis and Forest interview Serge Dedina of Wildcoast while Tom holds the boom pole for a high quality sound recording.

Paul Spitzer, an ornithologist they encountered by happen chance, took them on a bird walk to the mangroves where they encountered many skeletons, such as this gray whale skeleton.

A gray whale skeleton.

Jon and Natasha look through the scope at ospreys nesting by the ocean at San Ignacio Lagoon.

Andrew, Kristen and Jon prepare to snorkel in San Roque, an abandoned fishing village where Finding the Good camped for a week.

Tom gives a snorkeling lesson to the staff.

Local fisherman, in exchange for air in their tires, gave squid to the group. The boys were very excited to have fresh caught seafood .

Forest learns to lasso at the beach house in San Roque. Local kids came to interact with the students and both groups had a wonderful time exchanging culture.

Natasha works on a 3D dragon sculpture using found trash lying around San Roque.

Natasha digs a whole in the sand.

Noe, a local boy from Asuncion, brought his beloved horse with him when visiting Finding the Good at San Roque beach.

Sunrise at San Roque.

An abandoned church in the San Roque hillside.

Sunrise at San Roque on a cloudy morning.

Annabelle and Genesis paint Shari Bondy’s beach house at San Roque. She was nice enough to let Finding the Good use her home for gathering at nighttimes when the Baja winds were whipping.

Shari Bondy, a gray whale naturalist living in Asuncion with her husband Juan, tells her story during a Finding the Good Recording session. Shari has dedicated her life to protecting the gray whales and being an instrumental community member.

A sea lion (lobos marinos).

A pelican flying over the ocean.

Cactus and Boojum trees in the Baja California landscape.

Seagulls flock around the students while gutting fish in Bahia de Los Angeles (Bay of the Angels), one of the final destinations in Baja California.

A pelican poses on a rock.

Alex guts a fish he caught a few hours previous.

Genesis, Forest and Alex prepare the fish for dinner in the tide pool.

Finding the Good goes tide pooling at sunset with a marine biologist that was camping next to them. Brittle stars, sea urchins and hermit crabs were all discovered beneath the rocks.

Bioluminescence was captured via a long exposure. According to UCSB, “Bioluminescence is light produced by a chemical reaction within an organism.”

In Bahia de Los Angeles, Finding the Good slept in palapas on the edge of the ocean.

Desert Flower.

Desert Flower.

Desert Tree.

Alex and Genesis rest in hammocks in Ensenada. Finding the Good camped at a spiritual center and were hosted by the gracious Oscar and Marcela.

Finding the Good visited a school called Colegio Patria in Ensenada. It was a school dedicated to alternative learning and they used recycled material to construct their new building pictured here.

Wall flowers at Colegio Patria.

Alex and Genesis admire the work of a Japanese/American artist in the art museum in Ensenada.

The group watched their new friend Sophia perform a salsa dance with her instructor.

Finding the Good practices salsa.

Finding the Good helped move adobe bricks at Colegio Patria as an expression of gratitude for all of their kindness.

Our final meal in Mexico was at the home of Laura and Ezequiel, our gracious hosts and directors of Colegio Patria.

Antonio Rezendez teaches the group about economics of ejidos (land cooperatives) in Mexico.

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About the Finding the Good Blog

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Thank you for visiting the Finding the Good Blog! Here you can follow the journey of the participants of the Spring 2012 FtG Traveling High School Semester. This semester we are a group of 4 students, 3 teaching fellows, and 2 directors, with others passing through.
Posts are chronological, and you can click on the archives to view past semesters. Please view our website to get more general information about the semester. www.FindingtheGood.org